While I love the compact size, control scheme, and even the RGB lighting system of the Razer Leviathan V2, the accompanying software is where things go south. After spending over two months with the soundbar, I'm still unable to figure out some of the issues I'm facing or make much sense of it all. I tried everything in my power to get it to work perfectly, including a complete Windows 11 reinstall, as well as moving the soundbar to a different system altogether. Nothing helped, at least not before installing additional software to work alongside Synapse 3.

Razer Synapse 3 (Windows)

Let me give you a general overview of what we're dealing with here. First of all, you're supposed to install the Razer Synapse 3 software suite to control the Leviathan V2. Synapse 3 comes with a couple of modules for advanced RGB setup and synchronization with other Razer Chroma devices, as well as a heap of other Razer-branded apps. Thankfully, you don't have to install any of them; Synapse 3 should be sufficient if you only want to configure the sound and lighting of the Leviathan V2.


Unfortunately, Synapse 3 was only partially functional in my case. I was able to use the integrated volume control, change the lighting effects (Breathing, Spectrum Cycling, Static, Wave) and color, and select the secondary audio device, the one that the source button switches to when pressed and held. What didn't work were THX Spatial Audio and Center Focus toggles, as well as the integrated 10-band equalizer, or any of the premade sound profiles (THX, Game, Movie, Music, Custom).

After doing a clean Windows 11 installation, I did get all of the features of the Synapse 3 to work properly, but my excitement was short-lived; after I was done installing the remainder of my system, the aforementioned features once again became completely unresponsive. That wouldn't be such a huge issue if the Leviathan V2 sounded great in its default state, but that's not the case at all. You really have to tap into its settings to get it to sound good. The "default" sound quality is lacking, especially in terms of clarity and openness of sound.

THX Spatial Audio (Windows)

Only after I installed the THX Spatial Audio app, which was done by selecting it during the Razer Synapse 3 installation, was I able to get the Leviathan V2 to behave. THX Spatial Audio requires you to change the default playback device from Speakers (Razer Leviathan V2) to Speakers (THX Spatial) and select the Razer Leviathan V2 (Speakers) in the output device menu in the Audio tab. Also, make sure to activate the THX Spatial Audio by using the appropriate toggle at the top of the Audio tab. This is the only way to enable the equalizer, but also to get the Leviathan V2 to sound the best it can. After that, you can select the output type (stereo or THX Spatial Audio) on a per-app basis.


Activating the THX Spatial Audio toggle is mandatory if you want to use the equalizer, which you definitely should, as that's the only way to get a lively sound from the Leviathan V2. You're welcome to play with the 10-band equalizer as much as you want, or you can simply use the Music sound profile, which is by far the best one on offer. It drastically improves the sound quality of the Leviathan V2 and completely transforms the overall listening experience.


The THX Spatial Audio app has two more tabs, Calibration, and Demo. Here you can play with the distance and exact location of virtual channels if you're using the THX Spatial Audio surround mode and test your settings in a fairly unimpressive demo.

In the end, in order to get the Razer Leviathan V2 to work properly and bring the expected level of performance, I had to install two different desktop apps, configure them to autostart with Windows, and permanently reside in system memory. I counted two apps and five services running at any given moment – just to make an audio product behave as expected. That's appalling.